Como 1907 was founded 119 years ago. They had never played in the UEFA Champions League. Not once.
In 2026, under the management of Cesc Fàbregas and driven by the brilliance of one 21-year-old midfielder, they qualified for European football’s biggest stage for the first time in their entire existence. The 21-year-old was Nico Paz. And the 2026 FIFA World Cup is where the rest of the world catches up with what Serie A already knows.
Follow Nico Paz and Argentina’s 2026 FIFA World Cup campaign live in India — stream every match on ZEE5 with a ZEE5 FIFA subscription.
Educated at the Best School in Football
Nico Paz grew up in Spain. His development was shaped by Real Madrid’s academy and 49 appearances for Madrid Castilla under the legendary Raúl, where he scored 11 goals as a teenager before earning his first-team opportunity.
That opportunity arrived on November 8, 2023, when he walked onto the Santiago Bernabéu pitch against Braga in the Champions League in the 77th minute. Before that season was over, he was part of a squad that won La Liga, the Supercopa de España, and the UEFA Champions League. Three trophies before turning 20. Most players spend careers chasing one.
How Como Gave Him Everything
In August 2024, Real Madrid sold Paz to Serie A side Como. Wearing the playmaker’s jersey, he became the central engine of Como’s attack — the player the team ran through, the one Fàbregas trusted to control the tempo and create when it mattered most.
The numbers from 2025-26 are striking. Twelve goals and six assists across 35 appearances. Voted Serie A’s Best Midfielder for the season. His total contribution since arriving — 18 goals in 70 appearances — is the record of a player who adapted immediately and kept improving.
The Champions League qualification was the season’s crowning moment. Como, a club that had spent most of their existence outside the top flight — let alone European competition — earned their place in the Champions League for the very first time. It did not happen because of their budget or their infrastructure. It happened because a 21-year-old made the critical passes in the matches where the margin between qualifying and not was razor-thin. That is not a coincidence. That is a player performing at a level that changes outcomes.
A Milestone Nobody Has Set Before
When Paz appears at the 2026 football World Cup, he will make history. He will become the first player in Argentina’s history to compete at a World Cup without ever having played for a domestic club or youth academy inside Argentina. Born and raised in Spain, developed at Real Madrid, starring in Italy — his path to the Albiceleste is unlike any that came before it.
With 8 senior caps already earned, he has proved he belongs. His contribution to the qualifying campaign included setting up Lionel Messi in a 6-0 win over Bolivia on his senior international debut — the kind of moment that defines whether a player is trusted at this level. Messi wanted the ball from Paz. He found it.
The Name to Watch Inside the Best Squad in the World
Argentina arrive in 2026 as reigning world champions, loaded with quality at every position. Within that squad, Paz is the wildcard — the player nobody outside Italy was watching two years ago, who now has Champions League medals, a Serie A individual award, and a direct line to Messi’s trust in qualifying.
He is 21, he plays in a squad with Messi and Emiliano Martínez, and he has spent the last two years earning trust at every level he has been placed in — Champions League football with Real Madrid, Serie A’s best midfield award with Como, and a senior international debut that ended with an assist to the greatest player who ever lived. When Argentina take the field in Kansas City on June 17, he is the name to watch alongside the headline acts. His father, Pablo Paz, played for Argentina at the 1998 World Cup. Now, 28 years later, the son is here — and he earned this on his own terms.
Watch Nico Paz in action — Argentina vs Algeria is live on Zee5, June 17, 6:30 AM IST. Get ZEE5 access with the ₹799 Quarterly Plan or the ₹1,699 Annual Plan.